Daily Excerpt: A Theology for the Rest of Us (Yavelberg) - introductory words

 

Excerpt from A Theology for the Rest of Us -

introductory words

These are trying times, as they say. I am older now—way past the 40 years of age that was the boundary for baby boomers for any kind of trust. I personally remember the race riots of the 60’s, the demonstrations against the Viet Nam War and the cynicism of political authority born of Watergate. I have studied enough history to be more than a little familiar with the Civil War, the Great Depression, and when the United States seriously considered the proposition that “What this country needs is a dictator!” Today’s challenges seem to pale in comparison. Nevertheless, the big difference is that today’s challenges are today’s challenges. The past is important and can have lessons that can be helpful, but those lessons must be understood and applied today for them to be any good.

 Maybe the most frustrating problem facing so many today is the feeling of helplessness that comes from feeling overwhelmed. Access to information, through the Internet and other media, was supposed to be a panacea, a way to access information so that we can all make intelligent choices for ourselves. As it happens however, there has been so much information, tsunamis of data from all kinds of experts on just about any topic imaginable, that most of us, the rest of us, are drowning and panicked.

It is in this context that I offer this little book, A Theology for the Rest of Us. “Theology” is a broad, intimidating term for a host of questions having to do with the meaning and source of life and all existence. Like any other topic, there are many experts with all kinds of degrees and weighty theses and analyses. Their language is often esoteric—complicated, they usually say, because the topic is complicated and the language must be precise. I suspect, however, that some of that complicated language is less about precision and more about preserving their authority and power. “I know these big words and you don’t, so you need to listen to me because I’m smarter than you.”

Let me say from the outset that I am not smarter than you. I don’t have a lot of university degrees or acronyms after my name. I also don’t have a long white beard or colorful robes or an exotic accent. I’m someone who has read a lot, travelled a little and, maybe most important of all, asked a lot of questions. I assure you: I have had no grand epiphany, no extraordinary experience where the heavens have opened and revealed the presence of The Almighty Who has resolved all my doubts and insecurities. I have simply looked at the world around me and its history and tried to make some sense of it all. I do not have all the answers, but I have come to enough of a direction to feel like I have a better idea as to where I am going and that keeps me from feeling lost, at least most of the time.

While this book is mine and makes sense to me, I doubt there is anything truly new here. Many of these ideas are quite old, in fact. I just may be presenting them in a more understandable way. This is not a peremptory defense for any inadvertent plagiarism. I taught middle school for many years and, if I had any strengths, it had to do with explaining ideas to adolescents with examples they could follow. I never felt like I was talking down to them

Rather, I felt like we were on a journey together trying to make sense of all the ways people have thought and behaved in the past. Sometimes we made more sense than others, but it was always intriguing and fun.

Note that this process involved “all the ways.” Over the millennia of human history, there have been countless theologies, philosophies, metaphysics—with leaders and followers just as diverse. My guess is that people selected faiths or lack thereof as much as reflections of their personalities as because of any intrinsic logical persuasiveness. As a result, I have allowed myself the freedom to pick and choose what makes sense to me and what does not. While every system of thought may have something of value, not every system of thought has everything of value for everyone.

I do not say that lightly, by the way, and you should not underestimate the risks of such an approach. People are social animals by nature and religions (and, for these purposes, I include atheism as a religion in the sense that it is a system of faith) are social communities where there is considerable pressure to conform. That is not a blanket criticism or rejection of all religions. Peer pressure is not always a bad thing and finding a group of like-minded people can help encourage us to persist when the inevitable doubts and frustrations of life appear. How to balance one’s unique ideas with the needs of a group for cohesion is no easy task. It is probably true that everyone has their crises of faith, but not everyone is prepared to acknowledge and address those crises openly and consciously. Such people are not going to take too kindly to those with questions they themselves have exerted great psychic energy to repress. Therefore, while just about everyone espouses the value of “independent, critical thinking,” just about everyone expects that the results of that independent, critical thinking will validate their own. When those results do not coincide, it is seldom a pretty picture. To the degree you value these social attachments, be warned that such theological explorations may leave you alone on your journey.

If you have any doubts along those lines, consider the fates of those religious personalities who dared to challenge their contemporary religions. In the Biblical Book of Genesis, for example, Abraham begins Judaism—and, with it, Western monotheism— by abandoning his homeland, Ur, and everything he associated with civilization as he follows God’s command to “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family to a land that I will show you” (Gen. 12). Siddhartha, the Buddha-to-be, similarly left his family and his father’s palace to seek enlightenment. Lao Tzu may have understood what was in store for him as well as he left his Chinese homeland, writing his Tao Te Ching at the request of a ferryman taking him to his disappearance. Muhammed had to flee for his life once he started telling his story, escaping the Mecca of his youth to Medina. And then, of course, there is the most dramatic example of all: Jesus is actually crucified for daring to defy the religious expectations of his time. So, should you develop any divine inspirations or your own that deviate from those around you whom you have come to know and love, do not expect to be greeted by adoring smiles and gratitude.

I should also caution you that there are many who believe that such speculations are, at best, a waste of time and, at worst, a dangerous distraction that diverts energies from confronting the real problems of suffering facing humanity. The Buddha himself proposed his “Allegory of the Poisoned Arrow.” This is a tale of a man shot by a poisoned arrow. Before he will allow treatment, he insists on answering questions such as “Who shot the arrow?” “Why did this person shoot me?” “What is the composition of the arrow?” “What kind of poison was used?” “Where did it come from?” Given the time involved in trying to answer these questions, the victim eventually dies from his untreated wound. For the Buddha, then, it is far better and more productive to address the issue of human suffering than to engage in endless, fruitless metaphysical speculation.

However, the Buddha also taught “Be ye lamps unto yourselves." (Carus, trans. 1894, (93:13)) In other words, he said that only those beliefs that make sense to the individual should be followed—and that included his own teachings. Those of us who are “distracted” (“plagued” might be more accurate) by such metaphysical speculations know that ignoring them is not an option. Not everyone is a diabetic so not everyone needs insulin. However, those of us who are metaphysical diabetics do ourselves no favors by pretending otherwise. We may never reach absolute certainty, but we are reasonably confident that we can make enough progress to make a difference in living our day-to- day lives. It is in that spirit that I have written this book. Hopefully, it will provide some illumination that will help you find your own way in these dark times.


A Theology for the Rest of Us has earned the following awards:

Best Indie Book Award
Literary Titan Silver Aware
American BookFest Best Books Award finalist


For more posts about Arthur and his book, click HERE.

For more book excerpts, click HERE.

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